Shusaku Endo's Silence Analysis

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Another example of PTSD is the PTSD that Sebastian Rodrigues experiences in Shusaku Endo’s novel “Silence.” “Silence” is a historical fiction that follows a Portages Catholic priest, Sebastian Rodrigues, who travels to Japan to spread the word of Christ. During his time there he witness Catholics who are tortured and killed for their faith. The book is based on the killing of Catholics in Japan during the 17th century. Catholic missionaries as well as Japanese Catholics were tortured and killed due to their faith. People watched as their fellow Catholics were drowned, hung, and executed right before their very eyes which left many people in silence. The longer Sebastian stayed in Japan, the more trauma he witnesses leaving him in silence. One of the most traumatic events …show more content…

army’s view on PTSD also has a silencing influence on soldiers. The topic of PTSD is silence. PTSD is viewed as weakness as well as a dishonor (Sethnne). Due to the stigma, soldiers who have PTSD are in fear of losing their job because they are seen as unqualified. As soldiers who suffer from PTSD recall, “I never wanted to talk about my PTSD, as others might have thought of me as being “unstable,” “not cut out for the job”, or something similar, (Wizelmen 125).” Soldiers who suffer from vivid memories of the trauma they face remain silent due to the fears as well as the negative views the company they work for has on PTSD. Until recently, PTSD has not been recognized as a mental illness. With the stigmatism of PTSD as a mental disorder, it makes more soldiers who suffer from PTSD to open up. Because of society’s views on mental disorder some soldier with PTSD continue to remain silent, “People shy away from saying these thing anyway because society has this unhealthy association of shame with a mental disorder,” (Sethnne 3). Due to society’s influence, soldiers with PTSD build up a wall around them, keeping in the trauma they endured, leading to more side